


One Spring Day in 1978

by rayshant_bestopt



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, M/M, Marauders' Era, random character death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-04
Updated: 2017-07-04
Packaged: 2018-11-23 03:20:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,837
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11394303
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rayshant_bestopt/pseuds/rayshant_bestopt
Summary: One Shot.  A sunny day for a bunch of teenagers starts out as fun and games during Herbology class, but it's still dark times.  And they'll get each other through it as best they can.





	One Spring Day in 1978

The sun is shining, and the five of them are trekking to the Greenhouses for Herbology. James and Sirius are trading jabs, and then Lily and Sirius are going at it, and then Peter comments that he doesn’t get it and Remus tells them they’re all morons.

They reach the class where the girls are clustered, Dorcas and Marlene finishing their cigarettes while Mary’s head is tilted up at an angle as she leans against the wall, taking in the full benefits of the light. They catch sight of the others and call out in greeting, with Dorcas tossing her cigarette to the ground before meeting Sirius halfway and crashing her lips into his, which he quickly and eagerly reciprocates, tangling one hand in her hair and the other into the fabric of her robe just above her backside. Lily makes a face and glances away unhappily– she’s never been happy with this, but she promised that she wouldn’t say anything. It’s not cheating, James had insisted– besides, if Lily wanted to have a go with Marlene, her boyfriend had claimed he’d totally be for it, so long as he got to watch. Which had earned him a solid punch in the shoulder. But she glances at Remus, studiously not watching the two of them, and keeps mum.

After a few more seconds though, the group finally make enough snide remarks that the two break apart so they can get inside the door. The dynamic of the friends has changed a little since last year, when it was Marlene and Sirius in a sort-of casual thing (Marlene has since moved on to Fitz Kellers, who actually takes her on real dates and writes cute little love notes to give her in the halls between class and doesn’t try to inhale her tonsils whenever they see each other– and Sirius is exactly the same as before, but with Dorcas now) and James and Lily dancing in circles around each other as they tried to decide if they were friends or more than that. So now James sits of the end of his table, with Sirius’ larger-than-life gestures and overall body language taking up most of the rest of their side; Remus across from him, and Peter from James; while Lily sits the aisle over, Marlene to her right and Mary opposite; the chair where Dorcas would be now usually empty in favor of Sirius’ lap.

The group is loud and rowdy– it’s really unlucky for Professor Sprout that they’re all so damned smart, with the Head Boy and Girl among them, because as much as she wants to lecture them about being careful with the Snargaluff, almost wants them to get a good smack by the thorns, she already knows that they’re miles ahead of their peers and Lily has already stepped away from the group twice to help the table behind her, and Remus has helped the giggling girls two tables over hold back the tentacles while they reach their hands in and bat their eyelashes at the “mysterious” introvert. She supposes she should be glad they’re all so proficient, or she’d be sending half the class up to the hospital wing for acting so daft on a lazy spring day.

Sirius and Marlene are bickering slightly, with the latter making an incredibly crude joke about the former's manhood that’s caused the whole group to burst into laughter. Lily’s own laugh carries– it’s one of the things James loves, how such a tiny body can produce such a loud feeling. It fills the room, and makes him feel like he’s surrounded by nothing but her happiness. 

And it’s Lily that sees it first, and it cuts off the boisterous music like her throat’s been slit. James’ eyes follow her wide green orbs to the door, and his curiosity turns anxious as well: it’s McGonagall. In Herbology. Standing in the doorway, eyes neither stern nor proper to match her posture; instead sad yet determined. It’s never well-hidden– not to them– and it makes James’ blood run cold to see his Head of House this way.

The entire group catches sight of the woman, causing the volume of the room to suddenly diminish exponentially, and then saturate with silence when the rest of the class finally notices as well. Because these days, when a Head of House appears in a class that’s not theirs, with an expression that’s not theirs… it’s never good news.

Lily’s throat tightens, and her hand reaches over to Marlene instantly, whose clutching Mary and both of her friends seem on the brink of tears already. Mary’s just lost an aunt– she can pretend everything’s fine, but it doesn’t keep the girls from hearing her toss and turn at night in worry, in pain. The redhead’s other hand is suddenly covered, and a contradictory warmth spreads through her as James squeezes her fingers, her tips curling around his for strength.

James is at a bit of an awkward angle, leaning across the aisle the way he is: chair propped on two legs to inch closer to his girlfriend; left hand halfway extended backward toward Sirius without actually touching his mate, instead clenching and unclenching apprehensively. His windswept hair hides his eyes, but not the intensity of his expression; his body rigid as it leans forward, heart pounding, eyes staring hard at McGonagall, desperately trying to hold her gaze and pry the name that she hasn’t yet spoken from her mind, trying to shield his friends from what is next. To stop what’s already happened.

Sirius’ body shifts immediately as well. Suddenly he’s slouching, leaning backward against his chair with a hand lazily draped all the way around Dorcas’ tiny waist as she digs her nails into his leg beneath her to steady herself. His look to the untrained eye would express a complete impassiveness, as if he’s seen too much to care– has no one left that matters. The only give away is the angle he’s taken, head inclined slightly toward James’ awkward half-fist, leg stretched under the table in Remus’ direction with one foot brushing his friend’s, and his free hand twitching at his wand as his dark eyes keep fixed on a group of Slytherins in his peripheral vision, who lean forward eagerly like vultures to a feast.

Remus is the opposite, having pulled inward completely, staring down at the table until he can’t stand it and shifts his eyes back to the Professor before forcing his gaze back down, repeating the cycle. His Adam’s apple bobs as he swallows thickly, and he gnaws on his lip. He feels Sirius’ protective gesture– would generally be frustrated at a potentially visible public display– but right now it’s his anchor, and the wolf’s own ankle winds itself around the other boy’s eagerly, the toe of his shoe brushing the hem of the other’s pant leg and wishing there weren’t a table between them.

Peter isn’t with them– he’d only left for a moment, to dump some leftover trimmings, and now he feels as if there are miles separating them, and he’s all alone. He’s watching the Professor, and he’s begun trembling so hard he’s not certain how he’s still standing. 

And then there’s a hand, twined with his so tight that he thinks it might be cutting off circulation, but he doesn’t care– doesn’t care that it hurts, doesn’t care that it’s a girl he doesn’t know, doesn’t care that it’s a Slytherin– because she looks just as white with fear as he feels, even though it’s not her House, and it gives him strength; so he squeezes back and they stand in the eternal moment of Purgatory together.

Finally Minerva– who had only paused briefly after a significant look to Pomona, to take in a steadying breath herself– opens her mouth. “Mr. Albright, if I could speak to you outside?”

The world suddenly begins to turn again, but now it’s far too fast– like they were suddenly dropped into a car at Gringotts. Samson– his face gone from shock white to ashen gray in less than ten words– moves to stand, and falters, his feet forgetting how to carry his own weight. Lily’s at his side in a moment, propping him up from the left while James takes him up from the right with a quiet “Steady on there, mate” as he carefully passes him off to his slower-to-recover friend in the chair next to him. Everyone watches as the redheaded witch and the sandy-haired wizard half guide, half-carry the beanpole of a Gryffindor between them out the door behind the two women.

The door clicks shut, and Peter and the girl suddenly seem to take note of each other, both blushing a furious scarlet before letting go of their hands and scurrying back to their respective tables.

Then there’s a loud snort, and Remus leans over the table instantly to latch his hand onto Sirius’ wrist a moment before his friend goes for his wand. The Slytherin boys have never been subtle, and Dorcas wisely slides off of Sirius’ lap just before her beau scrambles to his feet, practically dragging Remus over the counter in an effort to face off against the insensitive prats. The thinner boy maintains his grip, using the momentum to clear the table (and knock their plant to the ground with a crash) and wrap Sirius in a bear hug to keep him from doing something stupid in class. 

Then suddenly James is there, Peter just behind him, and the two best friends– brothers, may as well be– just spend a long moment locking eyes. Remus can hear the tension in the air as Prongs and Padfoot stare each other down, the anticipation coming off of everyone despite everything that’s just happened. He wants to scream at them to have some respect, but he worries that this only will instigate the man in his arms further. His mind pleads with James, and then he feels Sirius’ muscles relax beneath his arms, and he lets out a small breath of relief, his grip loosening.

And then James turns and throws himself at the other wizards, and Sirius roars and follows suit, with a slightly hesitant Peter bringing up the rear before Remus shakes his head in concession before entering the fray as well– at least it’s wandless, he supposes as his fist connects with the back of a head, while Sirius and Snivellus roll along the floor. There are shouts and breaking ceramic and biting plants, and when Pomona Sprout reappears, she is loud and angry about the whole thing, and gives them all detention for a week– but she pretends not to hear when class ends and Lily (who hates that she knows exactly what happened without even having to see it), gently kisses the blossoming bruise on James’ check and whispers Thank you, before she herself goes right back into a lecture against all of them about what impulsive idiots they all as they amble out the door.


End file.
